US investment firm RedBird Capital Partners has withdrawn its proposal to acquire the Telegraph Media Group (TMG), which publishes the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, in a £500m ($658m) transaction, citing prolonged regulatory delays and internal opposition from staff, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Opposition to the acquisition came in part from concerns over RedBird’s links to China. The US private equity firm has said it will work to secure a solution to the problem.
The offer marked the culmination of a saga lasting over two years in which TMG’s ownership has remained in limbo following its takeover by RedBird and Abu Dhabi-backed International Media Investments (IMI) in 2023 — a deal subsequently blocked by the UK government under national security concerns.
The publication was originally seized by Lloyds Banking Group in 2023, following failures by owners the Barclay family to pay debts.
